PHYSICAL QUALITY OF A DEGRADED SOIL RECOVERY 6 YEARS AGO

Abstract

The sludge is a compound capable of agricultural use, a source of nutrients for crops and soil conditioner. In this sense, has developed a work which objective on studying the influence of reapplication of biosolids in the recovery of physical properties of soil in a degraded Oxisol. The work was conducted five months after the biosolids re-application in a recovery area cultivated for six years under eucalyptus and pasture. The experimental design was randomized blocks with six treatments and four replications, with: Soil under eucalyptus and pasture with no added inputs, soil under eucalyptus and pasture with mineral fertilization, soil under eucalyptus and pasture with re-application of 4.64 mg ha-1 (on dry basis) of sludge, soil under eucalyptus and pasture with re-application of 9.28 mg ha-1 (on dry basis) of sludge, soil exposed (without any cultivation or fertilization), soil with Savannah vegetation. Was studied in soil layers of 0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m, the physical attributes: macroporosity, microporosity; porosity and soil bulk density. It was found that reapplication of the sludge is regaining ground in relation to physical properties, especially in the surface layers.